Roll wringer mechanism



May 5, 1942. ETTEN I 2281 683 ROLL WRINGER MECHANISM Filed June 8, 19545 Sheets-Sheet 1 lnvzn rma.

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May'5, 1942. N. L. ETTEN ROLL- WRINGER MECHANISM Filed June 8, 1934 f 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Eur-n75- May 5, 1942. N. L. ETTEN 1 2,281,683

I ROLL WRINGER MECHANISM BTTYE M y 5, 1942- N. L. YETTEN 2,281,683

ROLL WRINGER MECHANISM Filed June a, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 IIiYEETDR.

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y 1942- N. L. ETTEN ROLL WRINGER MECHANISM Filed June 8, 1934 5Sheets-Sheet 5 \\\\\\III ATTYE.

INVERTER...

3 agi-ma 5, 1942' m s e ROLL WRINGER MECHANISM Nicholas L. Etten,Waterloo, Iowa, assignor to Chamberlain Corporation, Waterloo, IowaApplication June 8, 1934, Serial No. 729,548

16 Claims.

of the top frame brings about de-clutching of the driving means to stopthe wringer roll.

An additional object is to provide manually operated lever meansdisposed at one end of the 'wringer for operating the pressure elementsto bring the wringer release into pressure relationship and retain thesame thereat.

A further object is to provide roll mechanism comprising pressureretaining means disposed on either end of the releasable roll andconnections between the mechanism of one end and that of the oppositeend whereby manual operation of the mechanism at one end brings aboutidentical operation of that at the opposite end.

Another object is to provide spring pressure mechanism operating on theupper roll, and means for adjusting the pressure associated with thelower roll.

A further object is to provide a manual water shed mechanism disposedbelow the lower roll and novel means for operatingthe same in accordancewith the direction of rotation of the lower roll.

Other objects will appear in the following description and accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my wringer.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view, somewhat enlarged, taken from line3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental end elevational view taken from line -l4 in Fig.3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevational view with certain portions brokenaway to permit clear view of the mechanism in operated position as willbe described.

Fig. 6 is a fragmental side elevational view showing portions of themechanism in operated position as will be explained.

Fig. 7 is an end elevational view taken from line 1-1 in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an end elevational view taken from line 8--8 in Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a fragmental plan view showing details of the mechanism to bereferred to.

Fig. 10 is a fragmental side elevational view showing details of partsdisclosed in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a fragmental detailed view taken from line ll--H in Fig. 9and Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 showing parts in operatedposition as will be referred to.

Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings showthe external portions of my wringerwhich may be briefly described as follows:

The numeral I 0 designates a lower frame member which includesconventional drain board portions ll disposed on either side and uprightend members ill in .which upper and lower wringer rolls l2 and i3 aremounted.

A transverse top member 14 is removably attached to'the lower frame bymeans to be described and carries on either side a hand rail I5 thefunction of which will be later referred to.

The wringer frame is supported upon a head member l6 which is adapted tobe mounted upon a post, support not shown.

The head member carries driving and control I mechanism for the wringerrolls, only a portion of which is considered a part of my invention.

That part of the mechanism not included in my invention will not beherein described further than to say that handles l1, l8. and i9appearing in the drawings are connected with various elements of themechanism to facilitate manual control of the wringer during practicaluse thereof.

Reference to Figs. 3 and 8 will disclose that the lower roll I3 isrotatably supported in the frame by means of bearing blocks 20 slidabiysupported in cage members 2| which are secured as at 22 to a lowerportion of the frame. Fig. 8 most clearly illustrates that metal plates23 are disposed below the bearing blocks whereby a bearing is formed forthe ends of adjustment screws 24 which are threadedly mounted in a lowerportion of the frame and are provided with lock nuts 25 whereby they maybe locked in adjusted position. The screws are obviously effective toadjust the vertical position of the lower roll.

Upper roll I! is rotatably supported by meansof bearing blocks 25'secured in cage members 26 which latter are slidably. supported independing end portions 21 and 21' of a longitudinally disposed bracketmember 28. The bracket member is secured in transverse top frame memberI 4 and the depending end portions are provided with slots 29 whichslidably confine shoulder screws 30 projecting from the sides of cages26. Thus the cages are mounted in the top frame I4 in a manner to befreely movable but not entirely separable therefrom.

A bar spring 3|, abutting the underside of top frame I4 at 32 has itsends resting upon cages 26 and is effective to urge the cages and upp rroll away from the top frame when the same is moved into elevatedposition, all as indicated in Fig. 5.

Pivotally attached at 33, to either side of bracket member 28 aredepending link members 34 having pivotal connection at 35 with levermembers 36 which latter are pivotally supported at 31 upon the endframes l2 and are connected to operate in unison by means of connectinglinks 38.

Figs. 3 and indicate that top frame I4 is movable relative to the lowerframe into an elevated position shown in Fig. 5 wherein the link 34 andlever 36 are in toggle extended relationship or a lowered position shownin Fig. 3 wherein the link 34 and lever 36 are in toggle collapsedrelationship.

It will be noted that with the parts in elevated position, Fig. 5, alowering movement of the top frame will bring about rotation of links 34on pivots 35 to place the mechanism in position shown in Fig. 6 whereinthe upper wringer roll is placed in contact with the lower roll.

Figs. 6 and 7 also illustrate a lever member 46 pivotally supported onend frame l2 by means of a. pivot pin 4i secured in a bracket 42. Thenormal position of the lever is as shown lying adjacent the end frameI2.

The lever is fashioned to have a back wall 46' and side portions 40" andis thus adapted to conceal underlying mechanism when placed in closedposition.

The lower end of the lever is left open so that the fingers of anoperator may be inserted within its lower end to manipulate it to theangular position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6.

A bifurcated link member 43 is pivotally connected at 44 with lever 40and carries a pin 45 at its lower end. The pin extends from yeither sideof the link and is slidably confined in slots 46 formed in bracketmembers 41 secured to the end frame.

Adjacent the pin 44, link 43 carries a pin 48 upon extending ends ofwhich are attached link members 49 which latter have slots 50 at theiropposite ends. The slots are fitted to slide upon studs 5! secured inthe body portions of levers 36.

Figs. 9 and show in detail a lever or arm member 52 pivotally secured at53 to one side of bracket member 28. A similar arm is likewise mountedupon the opposite side of the bracket.

A bifurcated arm 54 is pivotally mounted by a pin 55 in bracket 28. Theouter ends of the arm carry a pin 56 the ends of which extend towardeither side, through clearance holes in bracket 28 and slots 51 in arms52, to a point in the operating path of levers 36 as shown in Fig. 9.

Since the ends of arm 54 operate as a unit, the pin 56 supports the endsof arms 52 in such a manner that the arms 52 move as a unit.

Figs. 9, 11 and 12 illustratein detail that hand rails l5, alreadyreferred to, are supported upon the top frame 14 by means of levermembers 58 which are pivotally mounted at 59 upon thetop frame structureby means of enclosed brackets Coil springs 6| abutting the levers andbrackets operate to retain the levers 58 in the horizontal relationshown in Fig. 11.

The levers are provided with inwardly extending finger portions 62 andthose on the left hand end, Figs. 3 and 5, lie just below extending lipportions 52' of arms 52.

Fig. 12 indicates that downward movement of hand rails l5 brings aboutrocking movement of the levers as indicated in Fig. 12 whereby arms 62are caused to move the pin 56 upwardly. A spring 63, hooked to pin 56and pin 33 urges pin 56 and attached mechanism downwardly towardtheportion shown in Fig. 10. This movement will be referred to shortly.

Reference has formerly been made to the position of parts in Fig. 6wherein the frame has been lowered to a point where the upper roll isresting upon the lower roll but with no pressure save that of the weightof the mechanism, and the parts are arranged in position for finalmanual actuation into pressure position.

It will be noted that the upper ends of levers 36 are fashioned to havea lip'or hook portions 61 which are adapted, when placed in positionshown in Fig. 10, to engage the cross pin 56 and be confined thereby.

In order to place the parts in the described locked position the lever40 is moved outwardly toward the dotted line position of Fig. 6 wherebythe link 43 is moved upwardly and outwardly to engage the ends of slots50 in links 49 with studs 5! and thereby urge levers 36counterclockwise.

The described movement will obviously operate links 34 in a togglemanner to force the top frame downwardly to a closed position in whichpin 33 abuts a recessed portion of levers 36 as shown best in Fig. 10.

During this lowering movement of the top frame the spring 3| is forcedinto abutment with bearing blocks 25 to bring the upper roll intopressure relation with the lower roll, the lips 61 are moved toward pin56 and the pin is resiliently urged downward in such a manner that whenlever 36 is rotated a suflicient distance the pin will drop ahead of thelips to lock the levers in closed position.

After the locking operation is completed, lever 40 may be returned tonormal position, which movement is obviously permitted by slots 50,

The foregoing has described operation of the mechanism disposed in theleft hand end of the wringer. It will be noted that the lever 36-link 34mechanism just referred to is duplicated at the right hand end. Throughconnecting links 38, movements originating at the left hand end areduplicated at the right hand end whereby the top frame is made tooperate in a uniform manner.

Release of the mechanism is obviously accomplished by manual downwardmovement of either of hand rails l5 to bring about upward movement ofarms 52 and pin 56 as already noted, thus permitting lips 61 to escapethe pin and levers 36 to rotate clockwise suificiently to permitrotation of links 34 on pivot 35 and consequent upward movement of thetop frame to relieve the pressure exerted by spring 3!.

After release movements are completed the top frame and upper roll maybe elevated a considerable distance as indicated in Fig. 5 to permitremoval of large obstructions from between the rolls, however theposition of the parts after releasement would normally be as indicatedin Fig. 6 wherein they are disposed ready for final closure and lock asdescribed.

The foregoing has described the pressure and release mechanism of mywringer.

ing mechanism co-operating with the top frame underlying mechanism.

- by means of a bracket 88 and urged upwardly by a spring 61 anchored inthe head structure.-

Fig. best illustrates that arm 88 has an upstanding portion 88 restingupon an adjacent portion 88 of a lever member III which is alsopivotally'supported on pin 85.

Arm 84 and lever 18 are independently movable on pin 88 but are normallyinduced to operate as a unit by reason of the portions 88 and 88 beingheld together by a spring H 1 Bpring ll is retained by an elongatedrivet or pin 12 secured in portion 68 and passing through a clearanceopening in portion 68. A washer on the end of member 12 confines thespring in such a manner as to abut portion 68 to hold it in contact withportion 68. It will be apparent that arm 64 may rock upon pin 85 withoutaccompanying movement of lever 18 but the resultant compression ofspring ll tends to urge lever 18 to rotate in unison with it. 1

It is to be assumed that lever 18 is bifurcated and its arms extenddownwardly upon either sideof a clutch member 13.

The arms are angulated at their lower ends and each arm carries aninwardly directed roller 14 engaged in a groove 15 formed in the clutchmember whereby rocking movement of lever 18 on pin 65 is effective topropel the clutch laterally as will be explained.

The clutch is slidably keyed upon a coupling member 18 which has anenlarged end portion H in which is formed a squared end portion of theshaft of lower wringer roll l3. The opening and shaft are soproportioned that the coupling member may be moved out of axialalignment with the shaft without destroying the driving connectiontherebetween.

The opposite end of the coupling member is rotatably supported within aclutch element 18 which has slots I8 formed in its outer end. In theslots are engaged rollers 88 mounted upon a pin 8| which is secured inthe wall of a hollow hub portion 82 of a gear 82 not fully shown.

It is assumed that gear 83 is rotated by the driving elements of thewringer and has its bearing in the head structure at 84.

It will be apparent that the coupling member is freely rotatable withinclutch element 18, that the coupling between the latter and gear 83 issuch that it is axially moveable relative to the gear, that the clutchelement is held in alignment by reason of its being sleeved uponcouplingv member I6 and that the coupling member is supported at itsopposite end by means of its connection with the wringer roll shaft.

With the foregoing in mind it will be obvious 'that with parts inposition shown in Fig. 3,

wherein the top frame is placed in lowered position, arm 64 is rotateddownwardly andlever I0 is moved into position to move clutch member 18-into engagement with element 18 to establish driving connection betweengear 88 and the lower wringer roll.

It will further be clear that when the top frame is released and movesupwardiy,- spring 81- is elfective to rotate arm 88 upwardly as in Fig.5, to bring about de-clutching movement of clutch member I! to break thedriving connection.

The function of the coupling described in connection withspring II is toprovide a means whereby the top member may be reset when the tooth anddenture portions of the clutch are not in alignment. In such a caseclutch member 13 is prevented from moving responsively to movement of.arm 84 in which event the arm may be reset, with spring II urgingcoupling movement of the clutch parts. Initial rotation of gear 83 willbring the clutch parts into alignment whereupon spring H will forceclutch'member I3 into coupling position.

As a further feature of my wringer I provide a novel water shedmechanism which may be described as follows:

Figs. 1 and 2 show conventional drain boards H disposed upon either sideof the wringer.

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate that the members H extend outwardly anddownwardly and terminate in 9. depending edge portion ll.

Below the drain boards II and the floor portion of the wringer frame aresecured oppositely disposed trough members 88 extending from either sideof the wringer frame to points below and inside of the drain boardportions N.

Fig. 3 illustrates that members 88 are considerably narrower than thedrain boards and are placed approximately central thereof.

A flipper board 81, having upright end portions 88, is pivotally mountedat 88 upon bracket members 88 secured to the floor portion of thewringer frame. It is so proportioned so as to overlie trough members asindicated in Fig. 4 and by means of its pivotal mounting is adapted tobe tilted in either direction to shed water into either of troughs 85.An opening 88 is provided in the floor of the wringer frame wherebywater falling from the rolls is conducted to a point above the flipperboard.

The flipper is automatically actuated to shed water toward the side ofthe wringer receiving washed items by a mechanism comprising a groovedcollar 8| secured upon the shaft of lower roll H.

A hairpin spring 82 is disposed in the groove and is slidably retainedthereon in frictional relationship.

An extending portion 83 of the spring is loosely engaged betweenangulated forked portions 84 of an arm member 85 which passes through anopening 88 in the floor ofthe wringer frame and is secured to a shaft 81the same being rotatably supported in brackets 80.

Upstanding edges surrounding the opening 86 prevent water accumulatingon the wringer frame floor fro1n' flowing through the opening.

Below the flipper board and secured to shaft 81 is a double, arm member88 and this is adapted to communicate movements of the shaft to theflipper board.

It will be apparent that rotation of the lower wringer roll in eitherdirection will bring about similar movement of spring 88 to rotate arm88 upon shaft 81 to tilt the flipper board in a Y frictional couplingafforded by spring 93, will tend to hold the board in position.

Initial opposite rotation of the roll will ob viously bring abouttilting of the flipper board toward the opposite side.

Thus the water from the wringer is automatically drained toward thefeeding side without attention from the operator and the water thusdrained does not again come in contact with materials being wrung.

The foregoing has described the structure and functions of an embodimentof my wringer mechanism numerous modifications of which may be devisedwithout alteration of the principle of the invention. I do not wish tobelimited as to modifications except within the. scope of the appendedclaims.

What I claim is:

1. A roll wringer mechanism having in combination, a lower frame, arelatively movable top frame, mechanism disposed in either end of thelower frame capable of moving the top frame, said mechanism comprisinglever members pivotally mounted in either end of the lower frame, linkmembers connecting the levers with the top frame in toggle relationshipwhereby rocking movement of said levers produces vertical movement ofthe top frame, manual means for rocking the lever. at one end, andconnections between said lever and that in the opposite end to rock thelatter in unison with the former.

2. A roll wringer mechanism having in combination, a lower frame, amovable top frame, upper and lower rolls, separate similar mechanismsdisposed in each end of the lower frame and comprising verticallydisposed levers pivotally secured in the lower frame and mounted to rockin a plane parallel with the axes of the rolls, and links connectingsaid levers with adjacent ends of the upper frame in such a manner thatrocking movement of the levers brings about vertical movement of the topframe, and a link connecting the levers in such a manner as to cause thelevers to rock in unison about their pivots whereby simultaneousidentical vertical movement of the ends of the top frame may beaccomplished.

3. In a roll wringer mechanism the combination of a lower frame, amovable top frame, a driven roll in the lower frame, an upper rollmounted in the top frame, a spring member cooperative with the upperroll to move the roll relative to the top frame, a first lever rockablymounted in one end of the lower frame, a second lever similarly mountedin the opposite end of the lower frame, each lever connected with like Iends of the upper frame through toggle link mechanisms in such a mannerthat rocking movement of the levers in one direction brings aboutdownward movement of the top frame to place the top roll in pressurerelation with the lower roll, latching means co-operative with the firstlever to retain the same in rocked position and a connection between thefirst lever and second lever whereby movement of the first lever bringsabout similar movement of the second lever and latching of the firstlever retains the second lever in similar position. v

4. A roll wringer mechanism as set forth in claim 3 wherein saidlatching means comprises a movable member mounted upon the top frameadapted to be moved into latching or unlatching position and having incombination hand rails mounted upon the top frame the same havin:connection with said latching member whereby the latching member may bemanually operated into unlatching position.

5. A roll wringer mechanism having in combination a lower frame, amovable top frame, a driven roll in the lower frame, an upper rollmounted in the top frame, a spring member cooperative with the upperroll to move the roll relative to the top frame, a first lever rockablymounted in one end of the lower frame, a second lever similarly mountedin the opposite end of the lower frame, each lever being connected withan adjacent end of the upper frame through toggle' link mechanisms insuch a manner that rocking movement of the levers in one directionbrings about downward movement of the topframe to place the top roll inpressure relation with the lower roll, latching means co-operative withthe first lever to retain the same in rocked position, a connectionbetween the first and second levers whereby movement of the first leverbrings about similar movement of the second lever and latching of thefirst lever retains the second lever in similar position, and manuallyoperative lever means connected with the first lever whereby themechanism described may be operated into latched position.

6. A roll wringer mechanism as set forth in claim 5 having incombination a wringer head" and wherein said manually operative levermeans is disposed on the end of the wringer frame opposite the head, thesame comprising a lever member pivotally mounted upon the lower frame insuch a manner as to be swingable in a plane perpendicular to that ofrotation of the rolls and connected with said first lever in such amanner that manual operation of the lever member outwardly from theframe brings about movement of said first lever into latched position.

'7. In a roll wringer mechanism, a lower frame attached to a drivinghead, a lower roll journalled in said frame, an upper frame mounted on adual toggle mechanism pivotally supported in the lower frame, an upperroll in bearings supported in vertical slots by the upper frame, a

spring supported by said upper roll bearings and tensionable against thetop frame, a lever mechanism pivotally mounted on the end of the lowerframe and connected to said toggle lever mechanism to actuate saidmechanism into lowered locked position forcing the top frame into closedposition with the rolls tensioned together by the spring, and a dual barlock and release mechanism mounted on the top frame and associated withsaid toggle mechanism to release the toggle and the upper frame to openposition.

8. In a roll wringer mechanism the combination of a lower frame, a rollmounted in the lower frame, a dual toggle lever mechanism mounted in thelower frame, a top frame connected with said dual lever mechanism, toproll bearings mounted in the top frame and slidable vertically therein,a pressure spring on said top roll bearlugs and tensionable against thetop frame, a pressure mechanism mounted on the end of the lower frameand coacting with said dual lever mechanism to tension said spring tocreate pressure between the rolls, and a holding and release mechanismcoacting with said pressure mechanism and releasable by a release bar onone side of the wringer.

9. In a roll wringer mechanism, the'combination of a frame, cooperatingrolls therein, a' pressure device therefor including a pressure resetlever, release bars on each side of the frame and dual toggle leversmounted in the frame and coacting with said pressure reset lever mountedon the end of the frame, and a release mechanism for said pressuredevice actuated by said release bars.

10. In a roll wringer mechanism, a frame, 00- operative rolls mounted insaid frame, pressure spring means tensionable to apply pressure betweensaid rolls, means for substantially instantaneously relieving thetension of said pressure spring means for releasing the pressure betweensaid rolls, and lever means mounted on said frame for movements withrespect thereto, said lever means being provided with 'a lost motionconnection to permit releasing pressure between said rolls withoutimparting movement to said lever and associated with saidpressure springmeans through said lost motion connection for resetting the pressurebetween said rolls when moved in one direction with respect to saidframe.

11. In a roll wringer mechanism, a frame, cooperating rolls therein, adual toggle lever pressure device therefor, a locking and releasingdevice for said pressure device, and release bars extending across thesides of the wringer to release said pressure device, and a pressurereset lever on the frame and normally disconnected from the releasemeans for resetting the pressure on the rolls.

12. In a roll wringer mechanism, cooperating rolls including a drivenroll, a lower frame containing said rolls, dual toggle lever pressuremechanism mounted in the lower frame, an upper frame connected with saiddual lever mechanism and movable relative to-the lower frame, a pressurereset lever on the lower frame coacting with the dual lever mechanism'tocreate pressure between the rolls, driving means for said driven roll,and a clutch mechanism between the driven roll and the driving means,said clutch mechanism beingactuated by the top frame whereby the clutchis engaged when the top frame is in closed pressure position anddisengaged when the top frame is in open position.

13. A wringer mechanism having in combination, a lower frame, arelatively movable top frame, spring means normally tending to move oneframe relatively away from the other frame, releasable means forautomatically securing said frames together when in predeterminedrelative positions, levers pivotally mounted one in each end of saidlower frame, links pivotally connected with said levers and with saidtop frame in toggle relationship whereby rocking movement of said leverswill produce movement of said top frame relative to the bottom frame,and manually operable means for rocking said levers to effect saidrelative movement between said frames whereby to move the frames to saidpredetermined relative positions.

14. In a wringer, relatively movable top and bottom frame members,cooperative rolls mount ed between said frame members and movablerelatively toward and from one another, spring means normally reactingbetween one of said rolls and one of said frame members for creatingpressure between the rolls, a lever pivotally secured to one of saidframe members on a substantially horizontal axis, a link pivotallyconnected by spaced pivots to said lever and the other frame member intoggle relationship, means for releasably securing said lever and linkin toggle collapsed relationship whereby to se cure said rolls underpressure, said link and lever being so associated as to move totoggleextended relationship upon relative movement of said rolls fromone another when said lever and link are released, and means forreleasing said securing means.

15. In a wringer, relatively movable top' and bottom frame members,cooperative rolls mounted between said frame members and movablerelatively toward and from one another, spring means normally reactingbetween one of said rolls and one of said frame members for creatingpressure between the rolls, a lever pivotally secured to one of saidframe members on a substantially horizontal axis, a link pivotallyconnected by spaced pivots to said lever and the other frame member intoggle relationship, means releasably securing said lever and link intoggle collapsed relationship whereby to secure said rolls underpressure, said link and lever being so associated as to move to toggleextended relationship upon relative movement of said rolls' from oneanother when said lever and link are released, means for releasing saidsecuring means, and manipulative means having a lost motion connectionwith said lever and link for moving said lever and link relatively totoggle collapsed relationship thereby to restore, said pressurerelationship between said rolls.

16. A roll wringer mechanism having in com bination a lower frame, amovable top frame, upper and lower rolls, separate similar mechanismsdisposed in-both ends of the lower frame comprising vertically disposedlevers in the lower frame mounted to rock in a plane parallel with theaxes of the rolls, links connecting said levers with adjacent ends ofthe upper frame in such manner that rocking movement of the leversbrings about vertical movement of the top frame, a link connecting thelevers, and manually operable devices connected with one of said leverswhereby both of said levers may be rocked.

NICHOLAS L. ETTEN.

